08-28-2015, 01:20 AM
It was quite impossible to like anyone if you took yourself, or them, too seriously. Kushiel very rarely made that mistake. On the rare occasions when he did burden himself with serious contemplation he found only unsavory things. Better to keep the fare a little lighter. It seemed Straia was of a like mind, or at least was happy to play along. His grin turned a little lopsided, a little roguish. He took a moment to admire her crown and raven, as amused as he was intrigued. His voice was pleasant when he spoke, only the slightest bit teasing.
“Fancy indeed. Sumptuous even. Though some would say it is modesty, that brightens a woman’s charms.” His grin turned reckless. Just to prove how absurd that idea was, how unlikely Kushiel was to do or appreciate anything subtle, he created his own crown. It was a foot tall and sprouted up around his ears in a cascade of barely controlled fire. It lasted only a few seconds, and Kushiel ended his little show with the pleasing smell of burning hair.
Perhaps it was less classy than hers, but he liked to think it had an allure of its own.
“Thank god those people aren’t here, huh?” As the last sparks fizzled from his forelock, Kushiel couldn't help but think that it was worth it, to tarnish his pretty hair if it meant getting a rise out of Straia, be it smile or scorn. He would very much like to add that to his list of accomplishments.
At her question he cast a glance around, as if his opinion would be made in that moment, rather than over the course of his time here. Surprisingly, he had yet to be asked how he found his new home. It would seem most considered it a waste of time to try and wring any useful conversation out of the large gray stallion who routinely set himself on fire.
Still, he appreciated a woman who would attempt the impossible with good humor.
“I find it…speaks to me in a way.” He couldn’t be sure in what way exactly. Maybe in that it provided him with everything he needed. Maybe that its burning tree, somehow like a flaming heart, was an echo of his own.
“I’m sure there is someone I could speak to about that.” He sent a smile her way, almost an apology for a sarcastic reflex he could do nothing to quell. But though his tone was casual, there was truth to it. It was hard to point to what it was that made the Chamber the way it was. Dark and alluring, yet somehow bright as fire. Perhaps it was just the collective subconsciousness of its inhabitants, all bottled together and shaken up until it fizzled over. He shook his head to clear away the clouding thoughts and looked at her with curiosity.
“How do you like ruling it?” He wasn’t sure what they were exactly, the questions that you would ask to a queen. This one seemed the most relevant.
Kushiel
some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall